Transgendered: Suicide or aged care?
An advocate for transgendered Australians has spoken of the dire situation currently facing older adults when it comes to entering residential aged care.
Many older transgendered (trans) Australians would prefer to commit suicide rather than enter a residential aged care facility because of an overwhelming fear of institutional isolation and discrimination, an advocate has warned.
The National LGBT Health Alliance’s executive director, Gabi Rosenstreich, has urged the aged care sector to recognise the consequences of the situation currently facing older trans Australians entering or already in a facility.
Ms Rosenstreich called for action on the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, held every year on November 20, as the alliance attempted to motivated the nation to pay its respects to trans people who had committed suicide, been murdered or attacked due to discrimination.
“We know that a very large number of trans people are suiciding or thinking of committing suicide rather than enter an aged care service. That should be concerning Australians and concerning aged care providers,” said Ms Rosenstreich.
“They fear discrimination…That is not just a bunch of louts beating someone up on the street. It is also discrimination in aged care services in the situation where you know you are particularly vulnerable.
“…So they will do everything they can to avoid contact with aged care facilities. Sometimes I get the response that everyone feels like that. But they’ve lived under laws that have specifically excluded them and they were pathologised as mentally ill.
“The vast majority of trans people have experienced verbal and physical harassment, so the fear of dealing with institutions is qualitatively different to the rest of the population. Trans gender people are completely absent from national aged care research programs and service delivery.”
Ms Rosenstreich explained that although trans people are a minority group in aged care, their rights and issues should still be recognised.
“There’s many transgendered people who are in their late 70s and 80s. In terms of numbers across the population, it’s really hard to know…But, we are not talking about three people in Australia- we are talking thousands.
“On another level, for those individuals it is a problem. We don’t say that two per cent of the population is indigenous so what do they matter? Discrimination counters the values that all Australians should share.
“If things are going well for trans people and they are supported to participate in the community, then things are going well for everyone. If aged care providers are able to be inclusive of diversity, then that is a value for transgendered people and better quality services for everyone.”
President of Changeling Aspects, Kathy Anne Noble, is 75 years old and transgendered. Ms Noble has mimicked Ms Rosenstreich’s call for action for the sector to address issues of systemic discrimination.
“Our main concern is that most of my people, transgendered people, have a fear of going into somewhere like an aged care facility because it means that we are going to out ourselves,” said Ms Noble.
“A lot of trans people have not had the operation because they have either chosen not to, could not afford it or the operation was life threatening. So we have to educate aged care staff about the fact that there may be residents who are females without female genitalia or males without male genitalia.
“Discrimination occurs through the lack of education in aged care. If we can educate people it would make life a lot easier. “It’s a big area of concern because people just don’t understand. This is a condition that is condition we are born with and it is not a choice in lifestyle.
“I’ve got just three words: “education, education, education.”
For more information about suicide prevention visit Lifeline’s website by clicking here.
